Fiat 500 Spider Sport Colli

Vehicle Overview

The Fiat 500 Spider Sport Colli: Probably a one-off, this Fiat 500 Spider Sport from the museum Nicolis was built by the Milanese Carrozzeria Colli on a chassis fitted with a Fiat-derived engine. The years following the end of World War II witnessed the extreme growth of both drivers eager to satisfy their speed craving and technicians able to tune the common and calm series engines produced by the manufacturers for the daily cars (especially the 500 and 1100 Fiat engines). Together with the tuners, various other hand-workers specialized in the construction of special chassis and light and aerodynamic bodies were born. Among the small coachbuilders of the period, an important role was the one taken by the Milanese Carrozzeria Colli, founded in 1932 and specialized in aluminium workings. During the war Carrozzeria Colli cooperated with the Air Forces and soon after the war the experience gained from this collaboration led the firm to manufacture a special vehicle half-car and half-plane, with wings that bent upwards when on the road. In 1948 the Aer 1, a three-seat prototype, was able to make some trial flies. Although interesting and appreciated, the project did not have an industrial realization. Carrozzeria Colli continued manufacturing special car bodies until 1973 and from the 1950s cooperated in a special way with Alfa Romeo, for which they wore both racing (as the 6C 3000CM and Disco Volante) and series cars (as the station wagon bodies fitted to both the Giulietta and Giulia).